Montreal has accumulated quite the coterie of large-ensemble rock groups that use orchestral instrumentation to create wide-canvas compositions of epic proportions. You can add People for Audio to that list, though they are neither as mournful as the Constellation crowd, nor as poppy and theatrical as the Arcade Fire -- and they told the string section to stay home. There's a cool, jazzy undercurrent to their insistently flowing audio city sketches (befitting songs like “Sidewalks and Skylines”) that reminds me of British post-rock progenitors Talk Talk and Bark Psychosis (some have waited two years to say that again -- repetitive ed.) -- albeit with more muscular Ontarian dynamics, à la Slow Loris or Holding Pattern. There's not a wasted moment in People for Audio tunes; no mean feat considering some of them stretch into the 12-minute range. The group's Jeff McMurrich-produced debut is greatly anticipated -- at least by Jonny Dovercourt, who chatted with guitarist Curtis Stone via email.

The People for Audio biopic would involve location shoots in British Columbia, Guelph and Montreal. Can you give us the edited-for-Wavelength version please? Bill, Keiko, and Curtis all met four years ago out west and then moved to Guelph in 2002. They started playing shows with Rich on bass and recorded their first album in Toronto. We now all live in Montreal and have added Adam on lap steel and Scott doing projected imagery. We have our first album titled ...and this will be our homecoming'š coming out very, very soon on Storyboard Records.

You claim classical, avant-garde and minimalist influences, and I hear some jazziness as well, all of which seem to set you apart from your “we've heard Godspeed and want to try something like that” peers. Have any of you studied music or composition? If so, how does it affect your music-making? We've all been to school for music (except Scott) and I think it definitely has an effect on our writing and the way we
go about arranging a song. It has helped out a lot in communicating ideas.

Is going to music school the new punk rock? I really don't think so.

Toronto super-producer Jeff McMurrich recorded your first album. Tell us how you hooked up with him, and describe the experience of working with him. We knew that we wanted to capture the live energy of the compositions and as soon as we heard what Jeff had done with Rockets Red Glare, we knew he was the guy to do it. We were fortunate that he saw what we were trying to do and was willing to help us out. He has really great ideas and he knew exactly what we wanted. There's not enough space here to fully describe how much respect and gratitude we have for him. He's a true gift to your city.

What plans do you have for unleashing this recording on the world? Is there a concept or theme that unites the record? We're going to put it (...and this will be our homecoming) out on our own, under the name Storyboard. It's been a long time coming, but it should be in our hands shortly. I think I can speak for everyone by saying we've all sort of been in a state of flux the past few years, so the tone of the album just came naturally. It has a drive to it that to me really captures the emotions of being in transition and feelings of nostalgia. As the name of the album suggests, it deals with the comings and goings in life.

I hear People for Audio have also become People for Video with the addition of a graphic designer/photographer/videographer to your line-up. Why do you think it's so important to provide the audience with a “full multi-media experience?” The imagery provides us with another tool for creating a memorable experience. A lot of the imagery deals with memory, so part of the experience is to create something
lasting in the audience. We try to approach the projections like another instrument in the compositions.

Arcade Fire, Bell Orchestre, Black Ox Orkestar... you adopted hometown of Montreal is certainly not orchestrally challenged. What's the story? Some of the music here is truly amazing. I'm really excited to be here and have local bands that I find inspirational.